Gaming Guru

The hole

There are some days and nights, I mean, there are just some days and nights when nothing goes right and the things that go wrong go awfully wrong. I am sure that those of you who are avid casino gamblers have experienced those days and/or nights of horror. I know I have. You begin in a hole, and you end in a deeper hole.

Let’s take a look at one. We’ll use poor Karl as our example.

Karl speaks: “I have been playing casino games for 20 years, and most of the time I have fun. I’ve had winning nights and losing nights but usually the good events, say a good dinner with friends, a good show, can make up for any losses I experience. I am careful with my money.

“But one day and night, that’s right both a day and the same night, I fell into a hole from the very start of the trip and nothing could get me out.

“I went to the craps table first. I am a good bettor at that game, although I will admit that I sometimes make high house-edge bets. I couldn’t get ahead. The very first shooter rolled a 3, a 2 and a 12. That was three losses in a row for me on the come-out pass line rolls. So I reverted to the don’t pass, and the shooter then rolled a 7, a 7 and another 7 — three sevens in a row! I had now lost six bets in a row, and the shooter hadn’t even established a point number.

“I did get up on the 4, and since I was betting the don’t I laid the odds. The shooter immediately hit the darn four! So I switched over to the ‘right’ side and the shooter established a 6 as his point. That was great as the 6 and 8 are the numbers that hit the most after the 7. I put the full odds on the number. I had a good shot to win this bet. The shooter immediately rolled a 7 and I lost the 6 and a new shooter took the dice.

“That new shooter was me. I rolled a 3 then my point became the 5. I put odds behind my bet. I also placed the 6, 8 and 9. I now had a 50-50 shot of winning a bet on every roll. I sevened out on the next roll.

“I played a couple more shooters, won a bet or two, but I was in a hole right off the bat.

“So I went over to blackjack and lost eight hands in a row, two of them were double downs where the dealer was supposed to be weak and I had an 11.

“I thought, ‘The heck with blackjack,’ and I went to roulette. I like to bet either red or black as doing this usually means you don’t have really long losing streaks. I bet red; black hit. I decided to go with black; red hit. I stayed with black; red hit. I gave it one more try. I bet black and red won again. So I bet red; black hit. So I bet red again; black hit. I left the roulette table. I had not won a single bet.

“So I went back to craps. Lost. Went to blackjack again. Lost. Went to roulette. Lost. Went to mini-baccarat; lost fifteen out of nineteen hands.

“You might want to know how I know all my wins and losses – I write them down so I never fool myself about winning or losing. I couldn’t fool myself today. It was downhill all the way.

“Slot machines were next. Same thing. I won here and there but the overall course was down and down even deeper.

“I made the biggest mistake now. I increased my bets to get my money back quicker. Never do that. I kept losing and now the losses were greater since I was betting much more than before.

“This continued right into the evening. I would like to say that I hit a hot streak and although I won here and there, I was consistently losing. I didn’t even go to dinner that night. I just went back to my room and went to sleep. It was my worst trip to the casinos in 20 years, and I hope I never have one of those trips again. Actually, I pray that I will never have a trip like that.”

[Read Frank Scoblete’s books I Am a Card Counter: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Blackjack, I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps and Confessions of a Wayward Catholic! All available from Amazon.com, on Kindle and electronic media, at Barnes and Noble, and at bookstores. Visit frank’s web site at www.frankscoblete.com

This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net.

Frank Scoblete is the #1 best selling gaming author in America. His newest books are Slots Conquest: How to Beat the Slot Machines; Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo and Pai Gow Poker!; Beat Blackjack Now: The Easiest Way to Get the Edge; Casino Craps: Shoot to Win!; Cutting Edge Craps: Advanced Strategies for Serious Players; Casino Conquest: Beat the Casinos at Their Own Games! and The Virgin Kiss.

Frank and Casino City Times columnist Jerry "Stickman" teach private lessons in dice control. Frank's books are available at Amazon.com, in bookstores or by mail order. Call 1-800-944-0406 or write to Frank Scoblete Enterprises, PO Box 446, Malverne, NY 11565. Frank can also be reached by email at fscobe@optonline.net.

Frank Scoblete Websites:

Books by Frank Scoblete:

Frank Scoblete is the #1 best selling gaming author in America. His newest books are Slots Conquest: How to Beat the Slot Machines; Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo and Pai Gow Poker!; Beat Blackjack Now: The Easiest Way to Get the Edge; Casino Craps: Shoot to Win!; Cutting Edge Craps: Advanced Strategies for Serious Players; Casino Conquest: Beat the Casinos at Their Own Games! and The Virgin Kiss.

Frank and Casino City Times columnist Jerry "Stickman" teach private lessons in dice control. Frank's books are available at Amazon.com, in bookstores or by mail order. Call 1-800-944-0406 or write to Frank Scoblete Enterprises, PO Box 446, Malverne, NY 11565. Frank can also be reached by email at fscobe@optonline.net.

Books by Frank Scoblete:

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